Anatoliy Tymoshchuk started his career playing for his hometown team Volyn Lutsk, having risen through the ranks at the team. Following two successful seasons, the player began to attract attention from bigger clubs.

On 27 February 2007, Tymoshchuk transferred to Zenit St. Petersburg for a fee reported to be about €15 million.[5] He was soon named as the new captain of the team.[6] Manager Dick Advocaat was very impressed with him, saying: "About Tymoschuk I can say only good things, and not only the player but also the person. Tymoschuk – is a professional from head to toes. I never had complaints to him about discipline. While Tymoschuk and I are at the club, he will be the captain of Zenit."[7]

His first season at the club ended in success, with Zenit winning the Russian Premier League title for the first time in the club's history. This trophy constituted the club's first league title since its 1984 Soviet Top League triumph.[8] At the end of the season, Tymoshchuk was included in the annual list of the best 33 players of the Russian Premier League,[9] and was also voted as league player of the year by popular sports magazine Sport-Express.[10]

After FC Zenit Saint Petersburg won the championship title, cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko known as a fan of the team, waved Zenit shirt with Tymoshchuk's name on it while in space. Zenit became the first team to have its uniform shown in space.[11]

In February 2009, Uli Hoeneß, the general manager of Bayern Munich, announced Tymoshchuk had agreed that he would join the club.[14] Initially, Zenit announced that there was no agreement yet between the two clubs, but on 18 February, Bayern announced that Tymoshchuk would join the club in July 2009, in order to let Tymoshchuk play for Zenit until the summer.[15] He played his last games with Zenit on 14 June 2009.

Tymoshchuk officially joined Bayern on 1 July 2009 with a contract that expired on 30 June 2012.[16] The transfer fee was undisclosed but German media reports put the deal at €14 million.[17]

Tymoshchuk played his first game for Bayern Munich against AC Milan during the 2009 Audi Cup, coming on as a second-half substitute. He also started in the final against Manchester United where he was substituted off in the 77th minute. Bayern won the match 7–6 on penalties.[18] He scored his first goal for Bayern Munich against Juventus in the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. On 8 May 2010, Tymoshchuk won his first trophy with Bayern, the Bundesliga 2009–10 followed a week later by the DFB-Pokal.[19] In total Tymoshchuk made 21 Bundesliga appearances in the 2009–10 season, ten as a substitute, but failed to start a game in the whole of the second half of the season.[20]

Late July 2010, Bayern coach Louis van Gaal described Tymoshchuk's prospects as "not very bright" and added to this "If a player doesn't play or doesn't have bright prospects then I would leave if I were them."[21] Nevertheless from October 2010 till March 2011 Tymoshchuk started in all of Bayern's games.[22][23]

In 2011, the manager Jupp Heynckes stated that under him Tymoschuk will play more.[24] Tymoshchuk was given a chance to start in games at the time the team was plagued with injuries, filling in at the centre of defense.[25][26] He started in central defence alongside Boateng in the Champions League Final in Munich which Bayern eventually lost to Chelsea F.C. on penalties. Before the final the manager Heynckes said: "Tymoschuk is a great team player. He's really important for us, and in situation, when three players are disqualified, his experience and ability to play in different positions is really useful for us".[27] As a result of Tymoschuk playing a bigger role under Heynckes than under Van Gaal he became an important part of the team. Manuel Neuer said about Tymoschuk: "For me the main job – not to let goals in. As a result, I love partners who have the same job. Anatoliy – is quite an aggressive footballer, but it's a smart aggression. He knows perfectly, when to choose the right position, to stop the attack of the opponent, and when to use such a move, like taking the ball harshly. No doubt, Tymoschuk is doing a great job at Bayern!".[28]

After winning the champions league with Bayern in 2013, Tymoschuk returned to Zenit,[29] despite getting offers from different clubs around the continent.[30] Russian media claim that Tymoshchuk was signed by Zenit not only because of his skills as player, but for his ability to integrate the Russians and the foreigners in the team and stop the rumored conflicts among groups in the team.[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] Tymoschuk himself said that the return to Zenit is the last transfer in his career, indicating he will finish his player career in the club.[39]

In 2014, FC Zenit Saint Petersburg lost 4–2 to Borussia Dortmund, with Dortmund scoring twice in the first five minutes of the game. Tymoshchuk has said that there was a chance for his team to score when the score line was 3–2 to tied it up but they never did.[40]

Tymoshchuk has been described as one of the catalysts for Ukraine's first FIFA World Cup appearance.[42] He is currently the captain of the team, since the retirement of Andriy Shevchenko in 2012. On 11 October 2010, in a friendly match against Brazil, Tymoshchuk became the second player to have 100 caps for senior team, after Andriy Shevchenko who reached the triple digits in a friendly versus Canada two days earlier.

On 20 December 2011, Tymoshchuk has been named the best footballer in the history of his home country Ukraine. The 32-year-old Bayern midfielder came top of a nationwide poll to determine the key individuals in the Ukrainian game since the nation's independence in 1991.[43] He is the most capped Ukrainian player with 120 appearances as of 15 August 2012.

Tymoshchuk is married to Nadiya Tymoshchuk.[44] The couple met in his hometown Lutsk while living in the same neighbourhood. Their twins were born three months prematurely in April 2010.[45] In July, it was determined that the children were growing well and would be released from hospital.[20]

Tymoshchuk and his father have since 2000 organized tournaments, the International Anatoliy Tymoshchuk Junior Cup, for children from Ukraine and neighbour states in the city of Lutsk, Ukraine. The winners get cups and money awards. The mission of the tournament was to encourage children to continue their football training by giving them a chance to participate in a real competition.[50][51]

Tymoshchuk has twice played on Zinedine Zidane's team at charity matches, an experience he truly enjoyed.[52]